xiii, 210 pages : 22 cm

Includes bibliographical references ([197]-204) and index

pt. 1. An introduction to the Shiite tradition in Islam. Shiism : an overview -- Essential of Islam common to the Shiite and Sunni traditions -- Shiite Ta'wil : the esoteric dimension of Quranic scripture -- Variations on the esoteric tradition in poetry and theosophy : examples from Attar, Hafez, and Suhrawardi of Aleppo -- The patterns that inform history : Shiite worldviews and the understanding of past and future -- Shiism in India : historical background and cultural influences -- Representations of Muharram in British fiction and memoirs from the Raj -- pt. 2. Ritual and popular devotion in a Shiite community : Muharram liturgies of Hyderabad. Shiite shrines of the old city -- Shiite men's guilds of Hyderabad : an overview -- Lamentation rituals : Shiite justification for Matam (acts of mourning and self-mortification) -- Lamentation rituals : liturgical forms of Matam -- The Majlis liturgy : sermon topics and Shiite self-definition -- The role of liturgy in reinforcing communal identity -- Preparations for the Muharram season : rehearsal sessions and the training of the chorus in a Shiite men's guild -- Liturgy as drama : the seventh of Muharram and the bridegroom of Karbala's procession -- Cooperation and competition among the men's guilds -- Criticisms directed against the men's guilds -- Muharram liturgies and Hindu-Muslim relations in Hyderabad. pt. 3. Conclusion. Hyderabad and the world community of Shiite Islam

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